Simple steps to protect and strenghten your DNA—and keep you young

Cutting-edge science is unlocking the anti-aging secrets of telomeres—tiny segments of DNA that may reveal breakthrough insights into staying healthy and living longer. (Check out our full report on telomeres, Your Anti-Aging Future.) Basically, the shorter your telomeres, the shorter your life. Recent studies have linked telomere length to an array of age-related conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, and Alzheimer's.

While only time will tell as to what role interventions from genetic engineering or telomerase-activating compounds will play, there’s good evidence that you can protect or lengthen telomeres with simple lifestyle changes. Here are seven ways to help lengthen your telomeres—and your life—starting today.

Pioneering research published in 2004 found that telomeres of women under the greatest strain (caring for chronically ill children) were shorter by the equivalent of 10 additional years of aging, compared with those of low-stressed women. More recent studies have suggested that telomeres progressively shorten as job-related stress and burnout crank higher.

“But women who worked part-time or were retired had somewhat longer telomeres in one study,” says Dr. Parks, who coauthored the research. “That suggests telomeres may be able to recover from chronic stress.” Relaxation techniques have been shown to help. In a recent study of people who were highly stressed from caring for a loved one with dementia, calming yoga and meditation boosted telomerase activity by 43%. (Ready to relax? Here are Dr. Oz's top head-to-toe stress cures.)

Physical activity works to extend telomeres by both helping us blow off stress and boosting telomerase activity, say preliminary studies, though not all research confirms a telomere-stretching effect. But in one recent study, moving a single increment higher on a stress scale, like a last straw, made postmenopausal women 15 times more likely to have short telomeres—unless the women exercised, in which case those risks vanished. Researchers also tracked how much activity it took to make a difference. Their finding: Exercise benefits kicked in after 42 minutes of vigorous exercise over 3 days—14 minutes a day. Researchers note that’s on par with but slightly higher than the weekly total of 75 minutes of vigorous activity such as running recommended by the CDC. (No time to work out? Check out these quick calorie-burning intervals.)

Research links fiber, especially from cereal, to longer telomeres in women. That may be partly because folic acid, which fortifies enriched grain products such as breads and cereals, is thought to help protect DNA, including telomeres. Other research finds that levels of folate (the form that folic acid takes in the blood) appear related to telomere length in men. But researchers think that antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties of whole grains and plant-based foods in general help explain the effect as well—reason for the 95% of Americans who don’t eat the recommended 5 to 8 ounces of whole grains a day to get more.

The relationship between weight and telomere length appears to be complex. “We’ve found that people with a higher body mass index tend to have longer telomeres,” says Dr. Schaefer. But other studies have found the opposite. Age and other factors may play a role. In one study of women ages 35 to 74, yo-yo dieting and gaining pounds after age 30 were associated with truncated telomeres. “Obesity causes chronic inflammation, which produces oxidative damage, and telomeres are sensitive to that,” says Dr. Parks. (Oxidation is a process in which oxygen triggers chemical reactions in the body that can damage cells and tissues.) “The longer you’re overweight, the more damage may occur,” Dr. Parks says. Evidence suggests, as one study she worked on concludes, “obesity may accelerate aging.” (Follow this simple plan to help you lose weight over 40.)

Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E are also thought to protect telomeres from oxidative damage. In one study, women who got high amounts of these nutrients in food tended to have longer telomeres. Getting enough vitamin D appears related to longer telomeres as well, probably due to its anti-inflammatory properties. You could take a multivitamin—women who did had telomeres about 5% longer than women who didn't in one study—but recent research finds that multivitamin and supplement use may be associated with higher risk of dying. “Eating a diet rich in those nutrients may be better,” Dr. Parks says.

One of the first studies to follow what happens to people's telomeres when they get specific nutrients found that taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements for 4 months was associated with longer telomeres in blood cells. More recent research by the same team suggests that omega-3s, found in fatty fish such as salmon, may protect telomeres by reducing inflammation and oxidative damage.

Combining healthy habits may magnify their telomere-lengthening benefits. In one study, men with prostate cancer who meditated and used other relaxation techniques, ate a low-fat diet including whole grains, walked 30 minutes 6 days a week, and took supplements of fish oil and vitamins C and E boosted their telomerase activity by 29 to 84%. Unlike expensive therapies such as telomerase activators, “exercise and meditation are free,” Dr. Cawthon says. “And they’re available for everybody.”